The Persona 4 Reunion Murder
by JMFearless
Summary: Seven years after Persona 4, Souji Seta returns to Inaba, sparking a reunion of the Investigation Team, which turns deadly when one of them is murdered. Meanwhile, Jimmy Kudo comes to Inaba for vacation, only to be dragged into the mystery. Please R&R.
1. Chapter One: Reunion

**A/N: There will be a couple of chapters between Chie and Souji before any Case Closed `characters are involved, so anyone whose waiting for them, please just be patient.**

The Reunion

By JMFearless

Chapter One: Reunion

The bright Inaba sun shone down, as it did often. The Shopping District was bustling as usual. A young woman stood out among the others, mostly because of the way she moved: Purposefully, with her eyes forward and casting about to all sides. Her short brown hair was kept barely out of her eyes. She was always glad that she didn't leave it too long. "_Satonaka," _a voice called from her hip, _"Anything to report?"_ The woman detatched a walkie-talkie from her belt and spoke into it. "All clear here, Dojima-san. No sign of any suspicious individuals." Her actions probably didn't seem strange to most of the people around here though. It was a small town after all, and she had lived here for years. Most of the townspeople knew her. She had become an officer three years ago, so she still had a few to go before she could become a full fledged detective like Dojima-san. Still, he often did ask her for help on his tougher cases. She wondered how he had gotten clearance from the department to enlist the help of a simple trainee. Well, he was an experienced detective, so that probably meant he had some pull.

"_I see," _Dojima's voice responded back, _"Nothing on my end of town either. I guess our suspect won't be making any appearances today." _Chie sighed. Their current case involved a double homicide. Someone in the big city had shot two people in cold blood. Somehow, they pulled it off without leaving any evidence, and no one had heard the gunshots. Chie knew the big city was a lot busier than Inaba and people didn't see everything that happened like they did here, but how had anyone missed the sound of gunshots? It honestly boggled the mind. Anyway, the bigshot police department in the city apparently had reason to think the killer was coming to Inaba, which was how her and Dojima had ended up patrolling the streets, looking for anyone who was remotely suspicious. This was mostly a wasted effort though. There had been a depressing lack of witnesses, so they didn't even know whether the killer was male or female. Even if the killer was here, this was unlikely to yield a suspect. Chie didn't even know who the victims were. Dojima hadn't shared that information with her and she had gotten the impression that he didn't know himself. So much for inter-departmental cooperation. "What should I do now?" she asked, disheartened that they didn't even have one lead. It was starting to look like this one really was going to get away with it. She still couldn't get over that there hadn't been a single witness to someone shooting two people.

"_Call it a day and go home," _Dojima answered, _"We can start again tomorrow." _Chie was immediately unsatisfied with that answer. "But, Dojima-san," she said, "The killer is probably around here somewhere, laughing at our attempts to find them. How can we just walk away?" She couldn't wrap her head around this. Someone had committed murder and they were going to get away with it. _"Go home," _Dojima repeated, _"It's important to balance your home life with your work. Trust me, I learned that one the hard way." _Chie nodded and sighed. She knew what he was talking about of course. His job had kept him distanced from his daughter Nanako and it had nearly ended in disaster. She sighed again. He was right. "All right, Dojima-san," Chie said, "Thank you." She reattached the walkie-talkie to her belt and started to walk. But she didn't want to go home yet. She now had a place of her own, but she lived alone and sometimes it got dull. She could use it all she wanted to train, but sometimes it felt so empty.

She cast about in her head, trying to decide where she wanted to go. After a few moments, she decided to go to Junes. If nothing else, she could see Yosuke, which would brighten this day a little bit. She laughed at the thought. Back in high school, they'd fought like cats and dogs, but that was then and this was now. She smiled, her day feeling brighter already. Even the memory of them fighting made her want to laugh. They'd fought over stupid things, like the time he'd broken her DVD or the time she'd used his money to by clothes. Still though, he had actually been a pretty good friend when it had counted. Plus, he had saved her life that time…in the Midnight Channel. Well, him and Souji, but that didn't make her any less grateful. She made her way for the elevator. There was someone else standing there, apparently waiting for it as well. Chie squinted at the individual with a growing since of familiarity. The amazing shock of silver hair, unusual in these parts. The way he moved. It would have been hard to forget that. Was it really him? That would sure be something else. Well, there was only one way for her to be sure. "Souji-kun?" she asked, approaching him slowly.


	2. Chapter Two: Old Friends

A/N: I hope everyone can tell who is speaking. I tried to differentiate them using colored text, but it didn't translate over in the upload. Sorry about that.

Chapter Two: Old Friends

So it was that Chie Satonaka and Souji Seta ended up at the Junes Food Court, enjoyi ng the local delicacy of Inaba, grilled steak. _"Still your favorite I see,"_ Souji commented, _"You haven't changed a bit."_ He grinned at Chie and she felt a rush of nostalgia at that look. It had been so long. "Neither have you," she told him, "I guess seven years isn't that long." She laughed at that. She had been trying to sound deep and philosophical, but it had come out sounding stupid. At least to her. "So," she asked him, "What brings you back to Inaba?" Souji's face immediately turned grim. _"Big city business," _he answered her, _"I've been working as a freelance detective." _He reached into his pocket and produced a private investigators license, showing it to her. _"Someone murdered a couple over in my hometown. Word on the street is that the killer is headed this way." _Chie nodded. "Yeah, I know," she said, "I just came back from patrol, trying to find a suspect. But the police department over there didn't have much information." Souji listened to her words intently, and then nodded, looking like he wasn't surprised. _"That figures," _he commented, laughing, _"Witnesses in big cities are actually really unreliable. I take it there wasn't much of a description." _Chie nodded glumly. "You know, we should call the others. I'm sure everyone would love to see you."

Twenty minutes and several very fast phone calls later, the original members of the Investigation Team were gathered in the Junes Food Court. "I feel so nostalgic," Rise Kujikawa was saying, "Our very own special headquarters." This drew a look of slight bemusement from Kanji Tatsumi. "Are we still calling it that?" he asked, "The case was years ago." Rise laughed at him and shook her head. "I had to call it that at least once, Kanji-kun," she said, "The name just brought back so many memories." She looked over at Souji and smiled at him. "Besides, since Senpai's here, it seemed appropriate. It has been seven years since we were really altogether like this. I think we should fill Senpai in on what we've all been doing." Souji gave Rise the kind of smile that suggested that maybe she had just read his mind. "Why don't you start then, Rise-chan?" he asked her.

"Sure thing, Senpai!" Rise said, excitedly, "Well, my grandmother retired a few years ago, so I've taken over running the tofu shop. Business is pretty slow nowadays though, so I've got a side business. I'm a singer!" She smiled and reached into her coat pocket and passed a CD case across the table to Souji. "I just couldn't stay away from the performing arts forever," she said, "Guess it was too much a part of me after all." Souji gave Rise a reassuring smile. _"Nothing wrong with that,"_ he told her, _"If you enjoy it, keep doing it." _Rise smiled back, a bright smile that could only be shared between the best of friends. "You're next Kanji-kun!" Rise said. Kanji looked a little grim, but sighed in resignation. "Launched my own clothing line at the textile shop," he said, "Got a brand name and everything. Some city guy wants to franchise it. I haven't decided whether to take him up on it." This drew a glance from Yosuke, who had taken time out of his management duties to attend this meeting. "Why not?" he asked, "You'd get to sell your stuff all over the country. You'd be famous." Kanji shot him a glare, reminiscent of the way he used to be. "I don't know if I wanna be famous," he admitted after a minute, "I've never been much for the spotlight." The updates continued in this manner: Yukiko had taken over full management of the inn. It was booming now under her leadership and it had even made enough money to renovate. There was no need to ask about Naoto. She and Souji had been dating for years and had solved plenty of cases together. Yosuke had taken over as manager of Junes, which had apparently stopped suffering the disdain of the town folk, most of whom had been convinced that Junes was responsible for the general decline of business in the shopping district. So, that concluded the updates.

"So, what should we do now?" Yosuke asked the group, as the discussion had waned after the end of the updates. "Let's go to Yuki-chan's place!" an excited Teddie shouted. Out of everyone, Teddie had probably changed the least. He now looked older, to the degree that one would change in seven years. Of course, he hadn't actually aged, being a Shadow. He had simply altered his appearance every year, the alternative being that people would notice his lack of aging. "The inn?" Yukiko asked, "I suppose we can do that. We're pretty busy, but I can probably get us one of the deluxe rooms. I am the manager after all." She gave a bright, open smile. "You guys will love these rooms," she gushed, "We just added them in the latest renovation. They're awesome!" There was an almost immediate universal agreement to this idea. "_To the Amagi Inn then," _Souji said. No sooner were the words out of his mouth then the large group began to leave the table, making their way to the exit.


	3. Chapter Three: New Arrivals

Chapter Three: New Arrivals

"This is Inaba?" Rachel Moore asked, looking around, "It sure doesn't look like the kind of place that houses a world-class inn." She looked over at her longtime boyfriend, Jimmy Kudo for his evaluation of the seemingly quiet town. "You shouldn't judge things off first impressions, Rachel," Jimmy said, "Take it from a seasoned detective: Things are rarely what they first appear to be." Rachel looked at him, wanting to make some snappy comment back at him, but at the same time realizing he was right. "So where is this Amagi Inn, anyway?" Rachel asked, frowning, "You couldn't even get your hands on a map of this town before coming?" Jimmy giver her a light smile. "Relax, Rachel," he said, "I'll just ask someone for directions. That gas station attendant over there seems friendly enough." Without warning, he ran off towards the gas station to chat up the attendant. "Always running off on his own," Rachel grumbled, frowning again, "You'd think he would have learned his lesson after that whole business with the syndicate. Guess old habits die hard." Moments later, Jimmy returned looking triumphant. "According to the gas station attendant, we just take the bus from that stop over there," he said, indicating it with his hand, "It stops right in front of it." Rachel looked annoyed now. "We came all this way on a train and now we have to wait for some small town bus too?" she asked, "This had better be worth it, Kudo. This vacation was _your_ idea, so if it ends up being a downer, I'll be blaming you." Jimmy laughed again, clearly amused by this statement. "You've really got to lighten up, Rachel," he said, "Don't worry so much. See, here comes the bus now." He placed a hand on her shoulder gently and smiled down at her. God, he had a great smile. She supposed he was right too. She had been acting a little edgy. She took a deep breath and smiled back. "Yeah, you're right," she said, "Sorry." He shook his head like it was no big deal. "It's understandable," he said, "You're just worried about your dad. If my dad ended up getting shot, I'd be on edge too. Don't sweat it." This made Rachel smile again. Jimmy could be a first class geek sometimes, but on the whole, he was all right.

The bus finally arrived and the pair of them loaded into the bus, being sure to pay the appropriate fare. The bus was devoid of other passengers, probably a common occurrence for a small town, Rachel guessed. "My first passengers today," the driver said conversationally, "Where are you two headed?" Rachel looked up, barely registering that he had spoke. Half her mind had still been on her dad. "The Amagi Inn," she said absently, "We're here on vacation." She figured that was enough of an answer. "You have good taste," the driver said, "Big city hotels have nothing on that place. Be sure you try the hot springs while you're there." Rachel nodded. She probably would. If anything would cheer her up and take her mind off her dad, it would be a nice hot springs bath. That was, as Jimmy had told her before they left, the whole point of this trip. "Sounds great," Jimmy said, speaking up for the first time, "See Rachel, I told you this trip would be worth it." He grinned at her again. She nodded at him and turned to look out the window.

The rest of the bus ride continued in silence. Soon enough, a large building came into view. "There it is, the Amagi Inn," the driver said, "Hope you two have a good time." Jimmy and Rachel thanked the driver and approached the building. "You ready to go in, Rachel?" Jimmy said, giving her a concerned look. "Yeah," she said, nodding, "The sooner the better." They walked into the building, which seemed to be bustling with activity compared to the rest of the town. "Guess this explains why the rest of the town was so quiet," Jimmy remarked, "Looks like most of them are here." He walked up to the front desk, behind which was a girl in a pink kimono. Jimmy recognized her from the brochure. She was the inn's manager, Yukiko Amagi, unless he had her confused with someone else. "Excuse me," he said, politely, "I have a reservation. My name is Jimmy Kudo." Yukiko looked up at him. "Ah yes, Kudo-san," she said, "Party of two. You're in one of the deluxe rooms, right?" He smiled. "That's right," he said, "Good memory. You didn't even have to look me up." She smiled. "A good manager must have a good memory," she commented, proudcing two keys, "You're on the third floor. Room 382. You can't miss it." He thanked her quickly, then returned to Rachel, handing her one of the keys. "Come on," he said, "Let's go see our room."

Room 383 was buzzing with activity. The members of the investigation team hadn't stopped talking since they got to the inn. Given that three of them were detectives working the same case, the discussion had naturally turned to the double murders. Old habits died hard. Yukiko wasn't in the room, but they would see her later.

"I was hired by the first victim's sister," Naoto was saying, "She was a freelance writer and lived alone. She was killed by a single gunshot to the head. The perpetrator left no evidence behind, which suggests that whoever it is had some basic knowledge of forensics. It's difficult to say whether this is the result of research or professional experience."

"I was hired by the family of the second victim, a young girl," Souji said, "She was also killed by a gunshot to the head. Same lack of evidence, which has led the police to conclude that the same person killed both victims. In the case of the second killing, the killer left a note indicating that he was heading for Inaba. By this time, he's probably already here."

"But Dojima-san and I have been all over this city and we've found no one," Chie said, "This is really hard when you don't have a description."

"Senpai, I hate to interrupt," Kanji said, "But someone's listening outside the door." Kanji stood and opened the door, revealing a figure standing there. "It's not polite to eavesdrop," he told the guy.

"It's all right Kanji," Souji said, "He's a detective from the city." Souji analyzed him. "You are Jimmy Kudo, aren't you?"

"Yeah that's me," Jimmy said, "You're pretty well informed."

"I make it my business to know about other detectives," Souji said, "You never know when that kind of knowledge will be useful."

"Jimmy!" a female voice called from a distance, "Are you coming or not?"

"Yeah, coming Rachel," he said, "Gotta go. I'm in the room next door, so I'm sure we'll meet again." He wandered off, presumably to his room.

"He seems interesting," Naoto said, "In an event, let us cease discussing the case for now. Perhaps we should go into town for the moment. It's been way too long since we just enjoyed ourselves." The other members nodded their agreement and they calmly departed their room.


	4. Chapter Four: Samegawa

Chapter Four: Samegawa

"Wow," Souji said, "This place hasn't changed one bit." The Samegawa flood plain was still its peaceful self, even after all these years.

_"Things in Inaba rarely do, Senpai," _ Rise said, _"It's one of those small town qualities."_

"I suppose it is," Souji answered, "You don't get to breathe air like this in the big city. It's pretty nice around here without the life-threatening fog."

Chie laughed and smacked Souji on the arm. "You shouldn't make jokes about that, Souji-kun," she said grinning at him.

"Yeah," Yukiko said, "We shouldn't make jokes about the dead." She winked at him and smiled. She had been able to delegate her management duties to another employee for a few hours, so she had joined them at the flood plain.

"He didn't make any jokes about the dead," Yosuke cracked, "He made a joke about the fog." He grinned at Chie to show that he was just kidding.

"Right," Chie said, before appearing to notice something, "Are you all right Naoto-kun? You seem distracted."

"Huh?" Naoto asked, "Oh yes. I simply feel uncertain. I apologize for troubling you, Chie-san."

"Uncertain?" Souji asked, "What about?"

"It's nothing," Naoto said, "A bad feeling. Probably just nerves."

"Sometimes nerves are worth listening to," Kanji commented, "You shouldn't write them off so quickly."

"Perhaps you are right," Naoto said, "But please, don't let me spoil your good time."

"You're not spoiling anything," Yukiko answered, "Please don't worry Naoto-kun."

"I'm going to go to the riverbed for a while," Naoto said, "Please do not follow. I need some time alone."

"Take your time," Souji answered with an encouraging smile, "We'll all be here when you get back."

"Do you think Nao-chan is all right?" Teddie asked.

"She'll be fine," Souji told him, "She's probably just worried about her current case. She takes her work very seriously."

(Naoto's point of view)

Naoto stared at the river, deep in thought. It had been good to see everyone again, but she couldn't stop thinking about the murders. It was seven years ago all over again. Of course, this time the murderer had employed mundane means, but something still didn't feel right. The crime scene had been impersonal and detached. No sign of the rage that typically accompanied murder. As if the murders themselves weren't the goal, but just a means to some end. What could that be? There were too many question without many answers. Evidence had been sorely lacking. Not even a single fingerprint. The killer certainly knew what they were doing.

Naoto was broken out of her thoughts by an unpleasant feeling. Someone else was here. She felt her heart begin to pound. This felt like the feeling she'd had the time Namatame had kidnapped her. Fear. Cold, paralyzing fear. She tried to shake it off and keep her wits about her. "Who's there?" she called out, "Show yourself." She looked around the riverbed, but saw no one. Perhaps it was just her imagination.

(Chie's POV)

Chie was starting to worry. Naoto had been gone for a half an hour. Chie knew Naoto was prone to going off on her own, but she wouldn't have left for too long. It was their first group reunion in a while and Naoto wouldn't have missed it for the world. Chie decided to go to the river to check on her. She told the others she'd be right back and went towards the river bank. As she walked, she heard the sound of Naoto's voice calling out. "Naoto?" she asked as she ran to the riverbed. Naoto was standing there by herself. "Are you all right?" Chie said, "I thought I heard you call out."

"I'm all right, Chie-senpai," he said, "I thought I heard someone following me, but it turns out that it was nothing. I apologize for worrying you. Let's return to the group."

"Right," Chie said, leading the way back to the flood plain where the rest of the group was gathered.

**A/N: End of chapter. Sorry for the delay. Been busy with college. **


	5. Chapter Five: Murder

Chapter Five: Murder

"Jimmy!" Rachel snapped, "Did you even hear a word I said?" Jimmy snapped out of his reverie.

"Uh…no sorry," she said, "I was still thinking about those people in the room next to us."

"We're supposed to be on vacation Jimmy," Rachel said, "You're not supposed to be thinking about murder cases."

"I'm sorry Rachel, it's in my blood," he said, "You know that. Besides if there's a killer on the loose here, it's my duty as a detective to take an interest."

"You're such a detective geek," Rachel said, "But I suppose that you have a point. So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Jimmy said, looking down, "The murderer has managed to avoid detection by Tokyo City police. Furthermore, two well known private detectives couldn't find a trace of evidence. Assuming that he honored his message, the killer has slipped into Inaba and yet no one has noticed him. This one isn't going to be easy."

"No kidding," Rachel said, "This is gonna be harder than that Phantom Thief case you worked on." No sooner had Rachel uttered those words than a loud scream pierced the air in the inn.

"That sounded like Yukiko Amagi, the manager," Jimmy said, "It came from right next door. I wonder what happened."

"We should go check it out," Rachel said.

"Yeah," Jimmy said, although part of him wanted to tell Rachel to stay in the room. He knew she was a martial arts champion and more than capable of handling herself, so he would let her come. The two of them made their way to the next room. Yukiko Amagi was standing in front of the doorway with her eyes wide. Jimmy followed her gaze and was shocked by what he saw: The body of Kanji Tatsumi splayed against the wall of the room, with a single neat bullet hole in his head.

"You found the room like this?" Jimmy asked Yukiko, who nodded silently. She was clearly still in shock. Jimmy walked through the room carefully, looking for any clues he could find. "There's a note," he said, picking up something next to the body. "My revenge has begun," Jimmy read aloud, "This was only the first. Prepare yourselves." He looked over the scene. It matched what he knew of the killings in the city, right down to the gunshot. "Yukiko, go find your friends and bring them to this room," Jimmy instructed her. Yukiko nodded and left silently.

"What's up with that Jimmy?" Rachel said, "That's a strange request."

"Entry to this room wasn't forced," Jimmy said, "Either Kanji opened the door for his killer or they had a key. Either way, it's most likely one of them."

"You think one of Kanji's friends killed him?" Rachel asked, "But why? What's the motive?"

"I don't know," Jimmy admitted, "But only they could have done this without Kanji putting up any resistance. He probably never suspected a thing." Jimmy waited for a full hour before Yukiko returned with her friends.

"Everyone's here Kudo-san," Yukiko said, "So what now?"

"One of you is the murderer," Jimmy declared evenly.

"What?" Chie exclaimed, "That's crazy!"

"Think about it," Jimmy said, "Who else could have gotten into the room without forcing entry? Only one of Kanji's friends. In other words, one of you."

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Naoto said, "But how will you figure out which one of us it is?"

"Souji," Jimmy said, "I need you to confirm something for me." He handed Souji the note. "Is this the same handwriting as the note that was left in the city by the killer you're chasing?"

Souji analyzed the note. "This is definitely the same," Souji confirmed.

"In that case, I can narrow the murderer's identity down to one of two people," Jimmy said, "Only three of you use guns, but Chie Satonaka hasn't visited the city lately, so she's ruled out."

"That leaves only Souji or Naoto," Yosuke said, "But neither of them would kill Kanji."

"Yeah, neither of us has a motive," Naoto said, "Why would either of us want kill Kanji?"

"I don't know," Jimmy said, "But I am pretty sure that it was you, Naoto Shirogane."

"What?" Naoto said, "That's insane. Why would I want to kill Kanji?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Jimmy said, "While you're at it, you can tell me the reason why you murdered the two victims in the city. Because of the notes, I know that all of these murders were committed by the same person and that person is you. There's no point in denying it."

"Oh yeah?" Naoto challenged, "If you're so sure I'm the murderer, then show me your proof. Prove that I'm the one who took revenge on Kanji."

"I didn't have any proof before," Jimmy said, "Now I do. You just handed it to me."

"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked, "What proof did she give you?"

"You just challenged me to prove you took revenge on Kanji," Jimmy said, "But the thing is, the only people who could know that the motive behind this was revenge were those who knew the contents of the note. I read it at the crime scene and Souji read it just now. But you never read it. So how do you know what the motive is? There's only one way: You must be the murderer."

Naoto was silent and then she began to laugh. "Very good detective," she said, her former tone replaced by a cold one, "That's right. I killed Kanji and I'm going to kill the rest of them too. You can't stop me."

"You're not really Naoto are you?" Souji asked suddenly, "You're an impostor."

"Well now, aren't we perceptive?" she countered, "How did you know that?"

"First of all, I know the real Naoto isn't a cold-blodded killer," Souji said, "Secondly, you're wrist is empty. Naoto always wears a watch just like the one on my wrist. They're symbols of the bond we share. The real Naoto would never remove it."

"Souji's right," Yosuke said, "This must be an impostor. But who is it? Who has this much of a grudge against us?"

"I'll be happy to show you my true identity," the impostor said, "But first, indulge me in one question. What made you decide I was the murderer and not Souji, detective?"

"That's easy," Jimmy said, "The bullet hole. A bullet wound that small has to be from a small-caliber weapon. But I noticed when I eavesdropped on their conversation earlier that Souji carries a large-caliber weapon. It couldn't have made such a neat bullet hole like that."

"Very well, you've answered my question," the impostor said, "Now let me show you my true face." The impostor closed her eyes and soon the face of Naoto Shirogane began to melt away, revealing the impostors identity.

**A/N: Next time, the impostors true identity. Stay tuned.**


	6. Chapter Six: The Impostor Revealed

Chapter Six: The Impostor Revealed

"She…she just changed into a guy?" Rachel exclaimed, shocked, "How is that possible?"

"Anything is possible in Inaba," the impostor said, "You'll learn that quickly." He turned his attention to Yukiko and the others. "So," he asked, "Do you recognize me?"

"We're surprised to see you out of prison," Yukiko said, "Weren't you supposed to be spending a life sentence?"

"Escape was easy," the impostor said, "Especially with my new allies."

"What allies?" Jimmy demanded.

"Oh, you should be quite familiar with them by now, Jimmy Kudo," the impostor responded, "They're certainly familiar with you."

"The men in black?" Jimmy asked, "You work with them?"

"They're recruiting me," the impostor said, "Guess they found out about that little talent you just witnessed and thought it would come in handy. All I asked in return was that they help me with my revenge."

"Your revenge?" Souji asked, "This is all about us getting you sent to prison?"

"Of course not," the impostor said, "I didn't mind being in prison as long as I got the glory. But then you went and caught the real killer and I became a nobody."

"You were always a nobody Mitsuo," Yosuke countered, "Killing doesn't give you glory."

"Whatever," Mitsuo said, "I have a new mission now and it starts with eliminating all of you."

"Tell me where Naoto is!" Souji yelled at Mitsuo, "Now!"

"She's dead," Mitsuo said, "I slipped her a little poison. You'll never see her again, Souji Seta. Now if you want to know more, then come and find me." With that, Mitsuo moved near the television set and dipped his hand into it, eventually disappearing into it. The others never had a chance to stop him. While that was happening, Souji was shaking with anger.

"Souji-kun," Chie asked, "Are you all right?"

"We have to go after him," Souji said evenly, "He has to pay for killing Naoto."

"Wait," Jimmy said, "He said he gave her poison. What kind of poison could someone like him get his hands on?"

"Why does it matter what kind of poison it is?" Souji asked, "She's still dead."

"Maybe not," Jimmy said, "If the people who broke him out of prison also gave him the poison to use, Naoto may very well be alive."

"You think?" Souji asked.

"If it's what I think it is, then I'm sure of it," Jimmy said, "There's even an antidote. All we have to do is find Naoto."

"All right," Souji said, "Yukiko, Chie, Yosuke, I want you three to go after Mitsuo. Jimmy, Rachel and I will search the town for Naoto. Yukiko, stay here and try to keep the inn under control. We don't want people going into a panic." Yukiko nodded and left the room.

"Good plan," Rachel said, sounding a little shell shocked, "It'll give you a chance to explain why a mass murderer just disappeared into a television set."

"All right," Souji said, "Then let's go." With that, Jimmy, Rachel and Souji left the room, while Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko called on their Personas and entered the TV World once again.


	7. Chapter Seven: Happy Ending

Chapter Seven: Happy Ending

"Okay, so maybe you should start explaining first," Jimmy said, "How did that guy disappear into a television set?"

"This is going to sound nuts," Souji said.

"Try me," Jimmy said.

"All right, I'll try you," Souji said, "I first came to Inaba seven years ago when my parents took a job overseas. Shortly after my arrival, a television announcer named Mayumi Yamano was found hanging from an antenna in the shopping district."

"I remember that," Rachel said, "It was on the news in Tokyo back then too."

"I'll bet," Souji said, "It was pretty gruesome. Anyway, a few days after that, the body of Saki Konishi was found in a similar position. The police concluded that it was a serial murder. But what the police didn't know was that the murder had supernatural elements. My friends and I investigated the murders and discovered that they were linked to another world."

"Another world?" Rachel asked, "Is that where that guy just now went?"

"That's right," Souji said curtly, "I don't know how, but somehow while he was in prison, he developed the same power that we all have. The one that allows us to enter the other world. We call it Persona."

"Persona," Jimmy said, nodding as if it made all the sense in the world, "Earlier he said he was angry at you for catching the real killer. He wasn't the killer?"

"No," Souji said, "The killer turned out to be a police detective named Adachi. He killed Yamano because she rejected his advances and later Saki Konishi because she found Yamano's body. The guy we just met was a copycat. He killed a teacher at my school and hung the body from a telephone pole. Eventually, he became Adachi's victim as well, but we rescued him and he went to prison for the murder."

"I see," Jimmy said, "I guess now it's my turn to explain myself."

"Yeah," Souji said, "You said Naoto was still alive. What did you mean?"

"That guy said he was teamed up with a certain group of people," Jimmy said, "I've had contact with them before. The poison he said they gave him, the one he used on Naoto, may have been one that was used on me before. If that's true, she's alive, although she may look different. The poison simply made me shrink."  
"Shrink?" Souji asked.

"Yes," Jimmy said, "In my case to the size of a child. But there's an antidote. I carry some with me in case of emergencies. If we can find her, I can counter the effects. Any ideas on where she would go?"

"Well, she probably went home," Souji said, "The Shirogane Estate in town."

"Lead the way," Jimmy said and Souji began to walk, with Jimmy and Rachel following.

(Inside the Midnight Channel)

"Well, here we are," Mitsuo said, "Now it's time for my revenge."

"That's not gonna happen," Chie said, "You can't take on all three of us."

"We'll see," Mitsuo said with an evil smirk, "Why don't you meet my Persona? His name is Aragami." Mitsuo closed his eyes and a Persona emerged, swiftly striking the other three Persona users.

"Ugh…so fast," Chie said with a grunt, "I didn't even see it. That's one amazing Persona."

"We have them too," Yukiko reminded her, "Come forth, Amaterasu." Yukiko's birdlike persona emerged and cast a healing spell on the three of them.

"Thanks Yukiko-san," Yosuke said, "Now it's time to strike back. Come on Susano-o. Let's do it." Yosuke's faithful Persona emerged, blasting Mitsuo with a powerful blast of wind.

"Ugh…" Mitsuo grunted, "How are you so powerful?"

"You're in over your head Mitsuo," Chie told him, "We've had our Persona's for years and we got them naturally. You rejected your other self seven years ago, so this Persona your using must be artificial."

"An artificial Persona?" Yosuke said aloud, "How could that have happened?"

"Who knows?" Mitsuo said, "For that matter, who cares? All that matters is that I'll use it to destroy you. Aragami, attack again!" Again the Persona attacked, but the well trained Persona users were able to shrug it off.

"He's starting to get on my nerves," Chie said, "Time to finish this. Come on Suzuka Gongen." Before he could even move, Mitsuo was struck with Chie's most powerful physical attack.

"No!" Mitsuo said, "I will not be denied my revenge!" He was on the ground and struggling to regain his feet, but without any success. Yukiko was poised for another attack.

"No Yukiko," Yosuke said, "He's had it. "

"We can't just hand him over to the police," Yukiko said, "He already escaped once."

"I think we'll be okay," Chie said, "Once the prison hears what happened, he probably won't see the outside of solitary confinement for the rest of his sentence."

"Fine," Yukiko agreed, "Let's take him out of here." The three Persona users grabbed Mitsuo and began to drag him.

"Crap!" Chie said, "Teddie's not here, so we don't have an exit. We should have thought of that."

"Well, this is the area where we fought the Shadow Mitsuo before right?" Yosuke said, "Shouldn't the place where Teddie's old exit is be around here somewhere."

"You're right," Yukiko said, "Let's go." After some walking, the Persona users found the old exit and shoved Mitsuo through it, following behind closely.

(The Shirogane Estate)

Naoto waited uncertainly in her room. Her grandfather had believed her story about having been shrunk down to this size thankfully. Unfortuantely, only a pair of clothes from when she was eleven had fit her. And she hadn't kept any shoes from that time, so she would have to do without. Well, at least she was healthy, aside from the nasty bump on her head. Someone had hit her from behind at the Riverbank, knocking her out. Her mind still worked at least, but that didn't help much. She had no way to identify the killer.

"Naoto-sama," the voice of Yakushiji, the family secretary called from downstairs, "Souji Seta is here to see you, along with a stranger."

"Please, let him in Yakushiji-san," Naoto called back down. Soon, Souji was up in her room, joined by that detective from earlier, Jimmy Kudo.

"So I was right," Jimmy said, "He did give you that poison."

"Someone knocked me out," Naoto said, looking down, "I never saw them coming. Then they slipped me something and when I woke up I was like this."

"I can return you to normal," Jimmy said, "But first you may want to grab the clothes you were wearing before you shrank."

"I hung onto them," Naoto said, grabbing a pile of clothes from off of her dresser.

"Then take this," Jimmy said, handing her a pill, "Go into the nearest bathroom, get out of the clothes you're wearing now, swallow the pill, wait a few minutes and you should be normal. After that, just change into the clothes you just grabbed."

"This will really work?" Naoto asked.

"It did on me," Jimmy said.

"You were a victim of this poison?" Naoto asked, "I suppose that explains why you have an antidote."

"Yes, I suppose it does," Jimmy said, "But I should leave. Rachel is waiting for me back at the inn. For some reason she decided not to come with us." With that, Jimmy unceremoniously turned and left the room.

"I will be right back, Souji-san," Naoto said, now that they were alone, "Wait here please. I want you here when I'm back to my normal size." Souji nodded. He waited patiently as Naoto went off to find a bathroom. The seconds seemed to take an eternity to pass, but a few minutes later, Naoto returned and as promised, she was back to the way she had been at the inn. She was now wearing the clothes that she had taken off the dresser.

"Much better," Souji said, approvingly. Then his cell phone began to ring and he picked it up. "Hello," he said, then after a moment,"Great, nice work Yosuke."

"What did Yosuke-san say?" Naoto asked.

"They captured the one who attacked you," Souji said, "It was the same person who killed the two victims in the city."

"Who was it?" Naoto asked.

"Mitsuo Kubo," Souji said, "Apparently, he was out for revenge against us for his loss of glory. At least, that's what he said at the inn. He somehow developed the same power of us, but he was able to impersonate people as well. After he knocked you out and fed you the poison, he used his power to take your place and rejoin us."

"I see," Naoto said, her tone slightly angry, "To think that after all this time he would resurface. But if he was after us, why kill two innocent victims?"  
"Probably to get our attention," Souji said, "What better way to get the attention of a couple of detectives then with a couple of murders. He left the note at the second scene so we would know he was coming to Inaba. Then we would go there too, where he could trap us and take us out. Didn't work out like he'd hoped though."

"I see," Naoto said, "Well, I'm just glad it's over."

"Well, there is one thing you should know," Souji said, "While he was disguised as you, he killed Kanji. Single gunshot to the head."

"What?" Naoto asked, shocked, "Kanji is dead?" Tears began to well up in her eyes, even though her and Kanji hadn't been terribly close. He had been her friend and the thought of him dead brought her considerable pain. As if reading her mind, Souji carefully wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. She smiled through her tears and lost herself in this moment.

The End

**A/N: Sorry, the ending is a little dull and anti-climactic. I was looking to get it over with cause I have another story I'm working on. Ending fatigue in the extreme lol.**


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